No matter how you do the math, it’ll be easier — from a purely percentage point-of-view — to make the playoffs in the Western Conference than it is in the Eastern Conference.

Eight teams from both conferences make the playoffs.

That represents 50 per cent of the teams in the 16-franchise East and 57 per cent of the teams in the 14-franchise west.

“It makes it more difficult for us to qualify for the playoffs, simple as that,” said Maple Leafs coach Randy Carlyle. “More teams on our side. It makes you scratch your head. Why is it happening to this side, not the other side?”

Then there’s this whole thing regarding wild-cards. The Leafs are in an eight-team division, awkwardly named the Atlantic. The other Eastern Conference division — the Metropolitan — also has eight teams.

Each division is guaranteed three playoff spots. The final two playoff spots go to the teams with the most points regardless of division. Thus, five teams from the Metropolitan could make the playoffs.

“It’s going to be different,” said Leafs winger Phil Kessel. “It’s going to be tough to make the playoffs because I guess there are only three guaranteed spots in your division now. Before, you had all the other spots you could get . . . we’ll see. I think we have a good team and we’ll be competitive, but we’ve got to play the whole entire year.”

The teams in with the Leafs: Montreal, Ottawa, Boston, Buffalo — just like before — with Tampa and Florida as the southern outposts and Detroit repatriated from the Western Conference.

The changes were necessary because of the longstanding wishes of the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets to vacate the Western Conference. Both Eastern time zone teams felt playing so many games in the West — late starts for television and missed deadlines for newspapers — were a disservice to their fans.

“I love it,” said Wings centre Stephen Weiss. “It’s great. A lot of Original Six teams (Toronto, Montreal, Detroit) in the same divisions. Cuts the travel. The guys in Detroit are saying this is great.”

So the NHL and the NHL Players Association hatched out this deal as part of their new collective bargaining agreement. The new alignment is guaranteed a three-year life span. By then, expansion may be on the horizon, or teams struggling financially may be on the move.

“Those are things that are out of your control,” said Carlyle. “I have my personal feelings about it. But you’re part of a league and you’re expected to be a good partner.

“It’s a situation where they’ve made it a little bit more difficult for us to make the playoffs. Accept it. Accept the challenge.”

A look at the Atlantic Division:

Boston Bruins

They made it all the way to the Stanley Cup final, then GM Peter Chiarelli broke up that old gang in part to give a big pay raise to G Tuukka Rask. Gone: Tyler Seguin, Nathan Horton, Andrew Ference and Jaromir Jagr. In: Loui Eriksson and, in an ironic twist, Jarome Iginla, who had spurned a trade to the Bruins at the deadline. More will be expected this year of Dougie Hamilton and Torey Krug on the blue line.

Detroit Red Wings

A team that everyone believes is simply getting too old with the players it already has went out and signed 40-year-old Daniel Alfredsson and 30-year-old Stephen Weiss. Weiss, coming off injury, is a relative spring chicken. This team will go as far as G Jimmy Howard will take them, which, year after year, seems to be well into the playoffs.

Ottawa Senators

The Senators seem to have this magic formula for success. Last year, Jason Spezza, former Norris winner Erik Karlsson and top goalie Craig Anderson all missed chunks of time due to injury and they still made it to the second round of the playoffs. If those three are healthy, if Spezza thrives with the captaincy and Bobby Ryan scores in Ottawa the way he did in Anaheim, the Senators should be better than last year.

Maple Leafs

The Leafs added three key pieces: Jonathan Bernier in net for a solid 1-2 punch with James Reimer; David Clarkson with grit and goal scoring on the second line; and Dave Bolland, who gives a solid, two-way presence on the third line. Continued growth and production from Phil Kessel, Nazem Kadri and Jake Gardiner is vital to the Leafs’ playoff hopes.

Montreal Canadiens

Perhaps the least respected of the former division champions, the Canadiens are built on goaltending and defence. Some nights, Carey Price just isn’t good enough in net. Their forwards are small and got smaller with the addition of Daniel Briere. Two rookies — Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher — have to avoid a sophomore slump while P.K. Subban has to be at his Norris Trophy-best to keep the Habs in line for a wildcard.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Well, they will be able to score. If rookie Jonathan Drouin makes the leap to the NHL, the firepower up front will be among the league’s best. Steve Stamkos could challenge for the scoring title. Martin St. Louis wants an Olympic year. They will survive without Vincent Lecavalier. The goaltending, with Ben Bishop, might be better. The blue line is — shall we say — a work in progress.

Buffalo Sabres

It’s only a matter of time before Thomas Vanek and Ryan Miller get moved and the rebuild around Cody Hodgson and Mikhail Grigorenko can begin. Defenceman Tyler Myers has to bounce back.

Florida Panthers

Now that goalie Tim Thomas is there on a tryout, it might be time to rethink the Panthers. He took a year off but seemed ageless when he left. If his acrobatic style holds up, his goaltending could be enough in itself to turn the Panthers into a darkhorse. There will be instant pressure on No. 2 overall pick Aleksander Barkov to produce, while rookie of the year Jonathan Huberdeau has to keep improving.

More on thestar.com

We value respectful and thoughtful discussion. Readers are encouraged to flag comments that fail to meet the standards outlined in our
Community Code of Conduct.
For further information, including our legal guidelines, please see our full website
Terms and Conditions.